The City of Langford is looking for new ways to approach farmland protection and development, by proposing a way to ease removal of properties from the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).
Coun. Lilian Szpak wrote the Agricultural Land CommissionB次元官网网址檚 (ALC) Island Panel in March to indicate mayor and councilB次元官网网址檚 desire to meet with the panel and discuss the creation and implementation of an action plan. A report discussed Thursday by the cityB次元官网网址檚 agricultural advisory committee, which last met in April 2013, stated the goal was B次元官网网址渢o move forward from the current status quo with respect to LangfordB次元官网网址檚 agricultural strategy.B次元官网网址�
SzpakB次元官网网址檚 letter outlined an initiative that would see B次元官网网址渘on-productive ALR landsB次元官网网址� removed from the land reserve after B次元官网网址渁 significant contribution is made by the owner/developer towards the ongoing support of intensive agriculture on capable lands.B次元官网网址�
Those contributions would go into a fund managed by an independent corporation or committee made up of community members. While details still need to be worked out on that aspect of the plan, the money would be used to support infrastructure improvements such as irrigation and drainage for agricultural activities on land best suited for that purpose, Szpak said.
B次元官网网址淭his is a way to help fund the values we cherish here. We want to be able to grow local and shop local, and this is how we can continue to expand those aspects of our community,B次元官网网址� Szpak said, in making the best use of the land we have in the community.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e being proactive and innovative in the way we look at our agricultural strategy,B次元官网网址� Szpak told the Gazette, B次元官网网址渁nd weB次元官网网址檙e asking (the ALC) to consider an alternative proposal that will put our arable land to its best use.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淟angford isnB次元官网网址檛 an ordinary, everyday community, so we need solutions that are maybe out of the ordinary. We need to think outside the box. Just because weB次元官网网址檙e used to doing things a certain way, doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean thatB次元官网网址檚 the best way to do them,B次元官网网址� Szpak added. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檇 like (the ALC) to consider and appreciate our innovation and forward thinking.B次元官网网址�
Szpak said the proposed new approach stems from a study the city had done in 2007 when they discovered much of the land in the ALR in Langford was really not very suitable for farming.
B次元官网网址淭he limited area of arable land B次元官网网址� renders it unsuitable for sustained commercial agricultural activity except for high intensity, high layout input horticulture use,B次元官网网址� the study found, in regards to two of the properties currently being considered for removal from the reserve B次元官网网址� 3497 and 3505 Happy Valley Rd. It also found, B次元官网网址渢he lack of connectivity to other lands with agricultural potential severely limits the long term agricultural potential of the subject properties. These isolated parcels are faced with encroaching urban development on formerly vacant land which is out of the ALR.B次元官网网址�
The CityB次元官网网址檚 proposed initiative would see parcels of land like these more easily removed from the ALR.
Matthew Baldwin, Langford director of planning, said later a recommendation also came out of the committee meeting to ask the commission to come in and re-evaluate ALR parcels in Langford to determine if they really should be a part of the reserve.
Baldwin said the commission has never really looked at the land in the reserve to see if itB次元官网网址檚 actually best suited for agriculture, which leads to the issues of having people wanting their land removed from it.
B次元官网网址淩ather than deal with these things on a piece-by-piece basis,B次元官网网址� he said, B次元官网网址淚t would be nice for them to come look at the land and help us create a plan for agriculture here.B次元官网网址�
The committee recommendations will now go before council for consideration.
